WUOT’s Carole Myers: Periodontal diseases' effects extend far beyond the oral cavity. Though incurable, it can be treated and prevented. Dr Williams, Welcome to Health Connections.
Tim Williams: Well, thank you. Dr Myers, I'm glad to be here.
Tell us about periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease, as we have come to learn, is an inflammatory process that begins with food and debris being trapped around the gum line, and then it causes low grade infection when, if not treated, progresses into full blown disease status, where then the inflammatory diseases can spread throughout the body.
So how long does this process take?
It takes many, many years. As a matter of fact, periodontal disease is called the silent disease, because many times, patients don't even know they have periodontal disease until the effects are too late.
What are the major concerns about periodontal disease?
At first we just thought it might have been a localized problem to the mouth. But as medical research has progressed over the years, we've now learned that it releases inflammatory cells into the body that are now found in remote areas of the body, like the heart and even as far away as joints and knees.
What are the consequences of that?
Well, inflammatory disease we see in diabetes. We see it in heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, breathing problems, all those things factor into what the body can handle. And periodontal disease, being an inflammatory disease by nature, contributes to that load, so minimizing that at the start of the oral cavity is very important.
Let's talk about treatment. What can our listeners do about periodontal disease?
Well, the first thing you want to do is recognize you might have that. And the best way to do that is if you see blood when you brush or floss, that is an indication that you may at least have the beginning parts called gingivitis, which is reversible. But at that point, if you haven't seen a dentist, you might want to catch a dentist pretty quickly.
So then what happens next? Let's say that we didn't catch it quick enough.
Okay, if you come to the office and you're diagnosed with periodontal disease, the first thing we're going to do is assess the severity. We can treat some of these things in our office. However, some things need to be referred to a specialist at either one of those visits, the goal is to remove the cause of the inflammation, the bacteria, the debris, remove that from the mouth, and then you're able to control the disease process.
As someone with periodontal disease, what do I do for self care treatment?
The best thing you can do is to brush your teeth regularly, floss your teeth. And as I'm getting older, I'm finding water picks are a fantastic addition. It is a way to remove food from our teeth as our gums recede, and as that happens, you can use the water pick to blast the food out. And that's a really big help.
Is it safe to say that some of the things you've already mentioned about flossing, brushing and using a water pick? Can these both be used for treatment and prevention?
Absolutely they can, doctor. We have to treat this disease as a home care and a professional care type control.
This transcript has been lightly edited for content.